Three treatment tips you may not have thought of….
1. The people in your life often cause more bipolar disorder symptoms than you do yourself. Make a list of the people in your life and rank them in terms of which ones make your symptoms better and which ones who make them worse. Then you have some decisions to make!
2. Caffeine is a drug just like pot and alcohol. It’s addictive and it causes sleep problems just like pot and alcohol. Though it feels like it helps depression, in reality it makes it a ton worse because it affects sleep. I LOVE coffee and I have taught myself to drink decaf. If you have sleep problems or trouble with anxiety- coffee, energy drinks, super dark chocolate and lots of black tea may be the culprit!
3. Making successful bipolar disorder management a goal exponentially increases your chances of a happy, stable and healthy life. I reached my goal of being a bestselling author for one reason. I started with the goal that I would learn to manage this illness.
Now, if I could only get it to go away!
Julie
PS: Usually I say bipolar disorder, but many people say bipolar illness.. so I thought I would switch it up!
Those are great points and very true.
I have made the list you recommend in #1 what is the most painful is that my dad who is currently in a residential psych unit in on the top of the list of people that I can’t be around. His illness is my illnes, but I’m on the ‘outside’ making my life work.
#2 Oh how I love my coffee! But you are right.
#3 I often tell myself that my BP is similar to the chronic illness of diabetes. It has to be managed on a daily basis. There are days I don’t want to deal with it, but a little daily maintance is a whole lot better than a 72-hour suicide hold at the hospital.